Surrey Homes | SH35 | September 2017 | Education supplement inside

This page: Karen’s studio is a tranquil space, surrounded by
garden. “It’s quite important to have the studio away from
the house,” she says, “as I come away from the house and the
domestic chores.”
End House and suggest a group show.” They have brought
together glass maker, Max Jacquard (whose amazing glass
dishes – cast from river-beds – are on the dining room table),
photographer Marek Emczek Olszewski and wood sculptor
Tom Aylwin and together formed a show called ‘A Collective
View’ opening at West End House Gallery on 9 September.
Karen and David have completely transformed their home
and surroundings, taming the outside space from an unkempt
field into a proper garden and turning the house from an
ordinary cottage – with pink carpets and yellow satin walls, into
a spacious, light-filled home that reflects their personalities.
It has become the perfect backdrop for both Karen’s artworks
and their many treasured possessions. Leaving now, I can’t
remember what the house was like before its transformation.
That slippery memory thing is up to its tricks again.
Address Book:
A collective View featuring works by Karen Birchwood,
Kate Schuricht, Marek Emczek Olszewski, Max Jacquard
and Tom Aylwin will be at West End House Gallery in
Smarden from 9 September to 9 October 2017. A Private
View evening is on Friday 8 September, from 6-8.30pm.
For more information, see west-end-house-gallery.co.uk
99 wealdentimes.co.uk